Fact checkers are biased, too

Published: Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 11:53 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 11:53 a.m.

To The Editor: How can we verify political information from myriad sources that saturate the Internet? Many go to Snopes.com for the truth — the real facts. Alas, the real facts are that Snopes.com is a husband and wife operation (David and Barbara Mikkelson) that began as a hobby 13 years ago.

They have zip experience in research and investigation and no staff. Gary McCaleb of Texas called Mikkelson about a number of Snopes facts that have been proven wrong. McCaleb further discovered that the Mikkelsons are liberal Democrats (a redundancy). So much for Internet veracity.

So whom can we trust? Christopher Hitchens' essay in the Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 9) reports that after Walter Cronkite's passing, Time took a poll on America's most trusted newscaster.

Seven percent chose Katie Couric; 19 percent named Charles Gibson, 29 percent preferred Brian Williams. Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) was the clear winner at 44 percent. Hitchens posits, " Do these politico-media developments mean that undergraduate humor has now triumphed definitely, and that the balance of power is held by the sensibilities of the combined teams of Mr. Stewart and Saturday Night Live?"

<p>To The Editor: How can we verify political information from myriad sources that saturate the Internet? Many go to Snopes.com for the truth  the real facts. Alas, the real facts are that Snopes.com is a husband and wife operation (David and Barbara Mikkelson) that began as a hobby 13 years ago.</p><p>They have zip experience in research and investigation and no staff. Gary McCaleb of Texas called Mikkelson about a number of Snopes facts that have been proven wrong. McCaleb further discovered that the Mikkelsons are liberal Democrats (a redundancy). So much for Internet veracity.</p><p>So whom can we trust? Christopher Hitchens' essay in the Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 9) reports that after Walter Cronkite's passing, Time took a poll on America's most trusted newscaster. </p><p>Seven percent chose Katie Couric; 19 percent named Charles Gibson, 29 percent preferred Brian Williams. Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) was the clear winner at 44 percent. Hitchens posits, " Do these politico-media developments mean that undergraduate humor has now triumphed definitely, and that the balance of power is held by the sensibilities of the combined teams of Mr. Stewart and Saturday Night Live?"</p><p>Bryan Aleksich</p><p>Horse Shoe</p>